Construction of railroads



N. PETERS, PHOTO-LI'YEOGRAPHER. WASH UNITED- sTATEs PATENT oFFIcE..

JAMEs HERRON, 0E BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

' CONSTRUCTION OF RAILROADYS.

Specification of Letterslatent No. 1,558, dated April 18, 1840.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES HERRON, civil engineer, late of' Raleigh, North Carolina, and at' present a` resident of-fBaltimore', Maryland, have invented a new and Improved Construction of Railroads; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description;

The mode in which rail roadsjhave hitherto been 'constructed is described in the third London edition of Woods treatise on rail roads, also, in the printed reports of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Company, and in many other publications on the subject anterior to the promulgation of my improvements. That is string-pieces of wood, or rails of iron, are supported either on blocks of stone, or on cross-sills of timber; or having a continuous bearing on the road bed, are at longer intervals held together by cross ties, which yare bolted to piles driven in the ground. It may be observed of all these plans of construction, though in a less degree of the last, that the track instead of affording a uniform degree of support to the wheels, actually consists of a series of short elastic planes, divided by the rigid summits caused by the points ofsupport. The springing of the rails between the points of support gives to the engines, when they proceed with any considerable velocity a bounding motion, and unless precaution has been taken to place the blocks Vnearer together at the joints of therails, so as to render the deflections uniform throughout, a very destructive rocking` motion is united to the bounding one, or the engine moves with an awkward wabbling gait, which occasions the rapid weary and 'destruction of the engines railway, and carriages. But, evenshould the deflections be rendered uniform, still the point of support will present a succession of rigid summits against which the wheels impinge, or in bounding over, bend and even break the rails on the other side. The violence, rapidity, and varied direction of the blows and strains to lwhich each stone block is subject from every train that passes, soon causes them to settle unequally, and to spread apart, more particularly in the curves ofthe road, so that numerous cross-ties are found necessary to keep the track of the proper width. Hencel timber cross-sills are now very generally preferred, as they prevent-the spreading of the rails, and afford a less rigid support than the stone blocks. A track constructed ony cross-sills, placed at right angles or nearly so, to the direction of the road will soon,however, show many of the defect-s that are to be observed in the stone block system, while it has others that are peculiar to itself. The sills are usually made from six to nine inches wide on the base and seldom exceed eight feet in length, sothat they afford a less extent of bearing surface on the road-bed than the stone block. Much of this bearing is at the middle of the sill, where it has an injurious effect, as the extremities of the sills have to sustain theweight of the rails and the impetus 0f the moving trains, and having, moreover, a less extent of bearing surface than the middle are soon pressed into the road-bed. The sill will then rock, or spring,ion the ballasting under its middle, as on a fulcrum, and will generally recover its former position after the passage of the train, so that it is only in wetr weather that'this defect can readily be discovered, as the water will then be seen spurting from beneath the ends of the sills when the wheels roll over them. When once a. cavity is formed beneath ythe end of a sill, the evil goes on increasing very rapidly7 as the passage of each wheel gives an additional blow to deepen the pit; and it not unfrequently happens from the uneven state of the track, that half, or even more, of the weight of the engine, or carriage, is thrown on the wheel, which thus descends with the accumulated forceof gravity, and the'momentum of the moving train. The sills that are usually most depressed are those over which the rails join, as they are in consequence acted upon by at least double the weight the others have to sustain. This is a matter of very serious consequence in i earth, and the wooden rails, or string-pieces,y

simply abut against each other in a notch cut in the sill, being there secured by a wooden key driven alongside of them in the same notch. This imperfect fastening is not even suiiicient'to resist the warping of the wood, and frequently before the track has been used the end of onelrail will be seen elevated above the'other; the swellingand. shrinkage of the timber with the changes of weather, and the vibrations and jars of the passing trains soon` work the keys loose leaving the ends of the rails at liberty. f The end of the rail on which the wheel rolls at the instant will be depressed, and Vwith it` the sill under its extremity, while `the end of the nextra-il in continuation being at liberty, or only held down by the thin iron plate rail,

the fastenings of which being insufiicient to then become merely -ties to hold the track together; still the deflections'of the rails between the sills will continue as before, and

the mud-sill is found tosettle, soV that the track Vsoon becomes very uneven.

The well known track formed of continuous sills of granite platedwith iron might be supposed to afford a uniform and even way, but the stonesills are soon found to settle unequally, and to be crushed, or wear irregularly, while the iron 1s rapidly beaten out and destroyed, the whole structure being too rigid and devoid of elasticity. The advocates of the stone and iron railway might profit by the experience of the black-smith, whose anvil, they will find, is always placed on a block of wood, in preference to stone; for were the latter used, the anvil, hammer, and stone would soon be shattered: Yet what are the blows of the blacksmith to those of the ponderous locomotive engine? The degreerof elasticity required, will in `my opinion, be best obtained by the inter-V vention of. a strongly combined timber frame work between the iron surface of the rail-way, and the stone, or natural foundation; and the objection of rapid decay can be removed by kyanizing. The common timber rail `is usually made about five by nine inches square; if instead of this and the mud-sill, we take one piece of timber of equalsection, or even less, say eight inches square, and embed it throughout on the foundation, we shall have the same area of bearing surface as the mud-sill,'and avoid the deflections of the common rail.` The joints, however, will still be weak points, and the track must be prevented from spreading. Y

There is still another very great defect that may be observed, more or less, in'all our railsways. I mean the'lateral derange- `ment which takes place at the joints of the rails, and instead of'a` smooth and regular straight line, or curve, as the case may be, we` see a wretchedly zig-Zag one. And the only means, I have seen used to obviate this palpable defect, is to; prop the ends of the protruding sills from the sides of the cuts,

exhibiting more the appearance ofa tottering structure than of a new and Vvpermanent,

work; but even this rude expedient cannot be resorted to onthe embankments `and we see an abortive attemntmafde to secure the sills by driving stakes in the embankment at their ends;

I obviate'the foregoing `defects by uniting the materials of `thetrack in one continued and well knit framing, as represented on the four accompanying sheets of drawings, `n-*hichrepresent the principal modifications of the Vsame generalprinciples ofy constructioncontemplatedby me.

Sheet l, Fig.r 1., is a plan ofrailway track;

Fig.2 aside viewgand Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6` are cross-sections on anenlarged scale. The

same letters indicate the same parts in all these figures. Whenthe climate isi-mild, the soil open, permitting the fr eepercolation of water; or, from induration not liable to be heaved by frost, the road .may besimply graded in the Vusual manner, and planka` 0 a, &c., ofany suitable dimensions laid diagonally on the centerline of the track, and" crossed by others, be `b, 85e., laid in an A opposite direction, "so as to `intersect the former on the center line-c e 0 c, &c., where they aresubsequently securedto each other by woodenpins, or otherwise; these planks are also, made to cross each other under the `rails,as at A B C, F Gr, B D, &c., on theoutside of which the ends ofthe `planks are let project some ldistance-fa, .7), a, Z), &c., so as to haveia broad bearing on the road-bed, and on bad bottoms they should intersect again `on the outside. The timber railsor string pieces-a3 d d d-are intended to bear continuously on the road-bed, and when `the light iron plate rail is used, I would prefer forming them nearly square and of considerable strength as represented by thecro'sssectionsFigs. 3, 4, 5, `and G-and on Sheet 4f, by Figs. 4l, and a2. Forease of conn struction, and to facilitate repairsithe string'`-` pieces, and rails should bergot of uniform lengths, which `ought to be at least sufiiciently long to reston three intersections of the latticed sills, or from `A to B; and in laying down `the track I `generally prefer placing the joints of the string-pieces `on the one side opposite to the middles of the string-pieces on the other side, alternately as represented; F, G, and H being at the middles of the string-pieces, and C, B, and D at the joints. To prevent the end of one string-piece from starting up, or-being sunk below the other, and, also, to prevent lateral deviation, l have invented a new method of scarfng. The old half-lap scarf, represented at E, Figs. l and 2, and by the section Fig. 6, it will 4be seen throws great strain on the bolt r which soon racks it; to avoid which l devised the scarf represented open at A, and closed at C, B and D. This scarf is, however, too difiicult to make, and will not of itself prevent lateral deviations. I have since invented the simple and eiiicient method of uniting the ends of the string-pieces represented on Sheet 4, which I term my angular scarf. This scarf is shown open at. Ta Figs. 33, and 34; and closed at Tb', T', &c. This scarf can be formed-with the saw alone, and will be most conveniently done in a miter-box; a cut is made at any desired angle e f-say 45- which may extend to one-half, or any other proportion of the depth of the piece; it is then turned over and cut down at the same angle, which will on returning it be in the direction g 7L. On bringing together the pieces l and 2, the angular lap c g of 2 will rest on c g of l; and the angular lap L f of l will rest on the similar part It f of 2; as shown at Tb. And the diagonal surfaces e f, e f, g 7L, g L, being in close contact with each other will prevent all lateral variation. l contemplate the application of this joint, or scarf, to they general purposes of carpentry; making it of any required angle, or, with parallel sides and square ends.

The string-pieces may be secured to the latticed sills in a great variety of ways, as by a bolt 7L,.Figs. l, 2 and 6, passing through the string-piece and through the intersection of the sills, being secured below by a screw-nut, or a key. But, as timber when laid on the earth and exposed to the sun and weather is apt to split, and is then soon kcrushed beneath the engine wheels, I would prefer securing, at least the scarfs of the string-pieces by a band that would close the fiber of the wood, more especially when the light iron plate rail is to be used.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale, taken through C F Fig. l. At C the two laps of the scarf e and f, together with the sills a and I), are tightly bound together by four screws s, s, s, s; while the band at F is secured by two screws at top, and a hook z' together with the key j at bottom.

Fig. 4 is a section B of the plan and side view; here the bolt Z passes through the two side straps K K and through the scarf of the string-pieces; while below the brace sills the two parts K l( are connected by thecross bar m, which is hooked at the ends, and the whole is tightened by the key a. v

Fig. 5 is a section at D H of the plan FiO. l. The side D is secured at top the same as the last, and the bottom by screw-nuts. At H a method is shown by which the stringpiece and two brace sills are firmly bound by two semi-bands 0 and p, which are secured together by the hook bar g, and to expand it in length it should be heated at the time it is introduced. lt will be observed that where the ends of the semi-bands lap on each other their surfaces are counter inclined planes, so that on driving the key r the bands will be drawn tightly around the wood in every direction. OnSheet 4 a more simple band is shown; the brace sills being made of broader plank so as to admit of holes being bored through the intersection of the braces on each side of the timber rail, or stringpiece, which will be understood by the crosssection Fig. 4l, Z being the string-piece, and a the brace sills; the two ends of the iron strap z' z' pass through both brace plank, and are keyed below, or secured by screw nuts. And as screw-nuts in such situations are liabley to rust on the boltsv so that they cannot be either tightened, or taken ofl, l propose to obviate this defect by having them formed with a cap to cover the end of the bolt, as represented by W, and X, Fig. 39, so as to exclude moisture, and retain a little turpentine, or oil. l also propose to reduce the expense of the formation of these, and other screw-nuts, by casting them of iron, brass, -orlother metal, in suitable molds with the screw formed in them. Y

As there are situations where timber is abundant and cheap, and ironwork dear, and it may be an object to save expense, large wooden pins of any tough and durable wood may be used to secure the middle of the string-pieces to the brace sills, as represented by Figs. 44, 45 and 42, Sheet 4. `Wooden pins have been frequently used to secure the string-pieces to the sills in railroad construction, but have veny generally failed in consequence of having been driven in vertically, the starting of the rail would thus readily draw'the pins andA afford leverage to break them. Having clamped the brace sills a and Z) as tightly as possible to the stringpicce, l bore through the whole at about an angle of forty ve degrees in one direction, and again in an opposite direction, so that the pins w ien driven will make with e. ch other nearly a right angle.` By the use of large sized string-pieces, not liable to split, and the angular scarf T, eine., the pins might, also, be used at the ends, as at T p 29, Sac., Figs. 44 and 45, in which case l would prefer spiking a strip of hard wood m dsc., Figs. 44, 45 and 42, on the string-piece, on which the iron plate 1ail would be laid, the spikes s, Fig. 42, passing through ythe strip a, Z), b, through the cross-sills, Fig. 26, into ends TT, Src., by means of my vangularscarf, areV pierced with a mort1se near each end,

and into the string-piece.AV In every case the pins at least should be kyanized. j

The track on Sheet l is represented as prepared for the light ironplate rail' by having the part i cut out but, I would prefer mak ing it Hat on top, as just described, with a strip ot'hard wood. spiked on, which could at any time be removed and replaced by a heavy iron rail, Yof a similar section to those represented at Figs. 7 and 8. Y

The rail-way tracks I have described are constructed with a double set of braces,

which cross each other on the centerline;

crosssills may, howeverfbe combined with the braces as at Qc QC, Figs. 33 and 34, and at U, U, &c., Figs. tt'and 45,-or a track maybe constructed with a single set of braces like those represented onl'Sheet rc Fig. 46; or combined with cross-sills The following methods'will'show how the track may be united by means of wooden keys: Sheet 3, Fig. 26, is aplan of track; Fig. 27 a side View; and, Fig. 28 a crosssection at O' K of the plan. The brace sills run diagonallyfrom the joint of the rails onthe one side to the two joints on the other side.` Thus, the rails I K, the cross-sills L M, and the braces L I, L K form together `a king-post truss, and on the other side of the track there is a countertruss; and so on in continuation, the next truss being von the first side .every rail in the track will thus be trussed, and every scarf will be braced and tied to three points of theV opposite rail.`

These rails, or stringpieces, can, of course,

be secured to the sills by. bolts, bands, or

pins, asherein lbefore described; but, the method here adopted, which is best shown by the section Fig. 2S, is to cut mortises, 0L,

which lit the key pieces 0,0', and (Z, CZ', the former have each a shoulder e e, which goes below and secures the brace sills f and g; .while` above the sills,the surfaces of the key Vpieces incline to each other at top 7L z', and

thus embrace the rails K Z, which are cut in for the purpose; the whole is tightly secured by driving the wedge formed key m. The pieces Z CZ, which secure the middle of the rails Vto the cross-sills, are similar above the sills'to the others, but below they may be secured by cross keys, or even round pins an.

Sheet 4, Fig. 46, "will illustrate other `methods, contemplated by me, of uniting Vthe timber frame work of the track so as to gi ve full eifect` to the braces, both as struts and fties, without the use of iron work. The string-pieces, Yorfrails, Z (Z, ttc., are large'timbers having a continuous bearing on the road bed, and being connected at the through which pass the diagonal braces a a,

Z) Vbfjeach brace has Vtwo notches c c cut on opposite sides, and issecured in its place the keys e e, Sac.'` The braces cross each other in this case on-the outside of the rails, `where they may be secured to each other by pins,

keys, or otherwise, and, also, combined Withinside of the track," and adouble set used if desired. j' j Any of the usualiron rails may be laid and secured with the usual` fastenings on my timber A tracks; but, `I contemplate giving great additional strength toY the track by selecting and" combining a suitable iron. rail" with my timber frame work." `I'vi/ouldprefer for this purpose broad base parallel rail, capable of havinga continuousibearing,

similar to the rails represented in thesections Figs. `7 and 8, Sheet 1. On Sheet 3' one of my methods of conistructing my united brace track is represented. Fig.` 29 ,is` the planfoil track; Fig. 30 a longitudinal side view; Fig. 31 a cross-- section at' QQ of the plan; andl Fig. 32 a cross-section at `S T ofthe plan; the same letters are used on` the four figures. `Having latticedthe sills A A,&c., B B, &c., as Vdescribed in Fig. l and placed the scarfsi T T, &c., of the string pieces D D, &c., alternately opposite the middle, S S,&e., of the v 7o cross-sills, as at T U, &c. These braces may, obviously, be made to cross each other on the string pieces on `the opposite side of the track, l'place'the middle of the iron rails,

consequently theirstrongest and stitest part, so as to bridge over the scarfsof the timber' rails, or string pieces;'the iron' rails being made of regular lengths, their" joints*A will thusbe placed on the middle of the timber" string pieces, as at S S, &c., and, also, alternately opposite themiddle of the iron rails on the other side of the track. VIn fastening the iron rail to the timber frame work, it* should be done by such means as Willy` admit of the contraction and expansion of the iron bar; but, that this motion may be `the least possible, the bar should be fixed at the rnid` `dle of its length; this I effect in several Ways; the method represented inthe present' Vcase will be better understood by the crosssection Fig. 32, taken through T S of Fig;` 29; therside T in the sect-ion being through` the middle of theiron rail and scarf ofthe the iron rail on each side at the middle of its length, into which tits thetWo horns m, m of the wrought iron cross-bar or narrow on Sheet 4f, Fig. 7 m m, over which'isseen the rail'ready orinsertion. Having framed Vthe-track, or whenever it is desired to secure the rail to the cross barZ Z, the latter is removed and heated to redness, the rail is then inserted and. thehorns m, m hammered down onthe base of the rail,as at Figy32, and on lcooling they will contract-tightly on the frail; it` is then j, securedto` the timber 12e` chair Z Z;` these horns are* represented open frame work by the screw nuts 0 e on the two bolts a a, which latter pass through both the brace sills A and B, and may be secured below by a single key b b notched in as represented; or by screw nuts as above; or, dispensing with the bolts Z d, by having a common head on the bolt a a. The bolt d l passes through the two bolts a a, and through the two laps e f of the scarf of the string pieces, the joint being vertical. For the intermediate fastenings, as at Q, Q, the horns m m have sufficient width between them to receive the whole base of the rail, and may be driven on from one end. I prefer making the joint chairs at S S, &c., of wrought iron, also; constructing them in the following simple manner: Sheet l, Fig.k

14, represents a fiat plate of iron of any suitable thickness, in which four cuts z' j, z' y', &"c., are made with a saw, or otherwise, leaving a space y' j in the middle about equal to the base of the rail; the iron being heated in the usual manner of working wrought iron, the parts I, J, K, H, are bent up in the form of the section of the rail; as represented by the end view Fig. 16; and the plan, Fig. l5. These chairs being heated, will expand suiiiciently to admit the rail, and on cooling will hold it by an elastic pressure, that will permit the expansive and contractile motion of the railway bar; and as they are formed of the same metal as the rails, their rate of expansion and consequently pressure on the latter will continue uniformly the same at different temperat-ures; unaffected, also, by wet or dry weather. And as these chairs, moreover, are formed of a tough material they will be much less liable to break than the cast iron ones. Should there be any discrepancy in the size of the rail-way bars, it can be readily adjusted by heating the chair, as before described, and hammering in, or out, as may be required, either pair of wings J Hor I K, until the inner edge of the rails, next the flanges of the wheels, are quite even; more room should however, be allowed for the base of the rail than is shown in the figures; and if one rail be higher than the other, it will only be necessary to force the higher rail'into the chair a little farther than it will ever go by expansion, and to hammer down the surface of the high rail until both are even; either embedding the base of the rail in the bottom of the chair, or setting the bottom of the chair lower under the high rail, and embedding it in the timber. All of which will be readily understood and executed by any good workman. This chair is shown at S in the cross-section, Fig. 32, Sheet 3, and is secured like the middle chair by two bolts a a that pass through the intersection of the sills A B.

This track; it will be seen by the drawing, is put together with screws, so that any part can be removed with great facility to make repairs; or tightened when necessary on the fiber of the wood; and as t-hese screws would be liable to rust, screw-nuts with a little cap to contain oil, &c., and exclude moisture, as before described, Fig. 39, should be used in preference to those represented. The chairs of wrought iron, (or any malleable metal may be used) hereinbefore described, that admit of motion in the rails, while they hold them tightly, effect that desideratum by a metallic spring pressure, which method of holding railway bars I claim to have originated, and as said spring pressure may be variously applied for producing the intended effect, I claim its application for the objects herein set forth, whether it be effected by means of a wrought iron chair or as it may be united, and applied by a castiron one. And that others skilled in the art may know how to use it in connection with the cast iron chair, I will proceed to describe the method I consider best.

Sheet 2, Fig. 21, is a section of the rail, and an end view of the chair; R is the railway bar; C C, &c., is the end of the cast iron chair; and B is the spring headed bolt that secures the rails tothe chair. Fig. 22 is a plan of the chair, vand joint of the rails, which joint is represented to be diagonal, but may be made at right angles, or other-A wise. Fig. 23 is a horizontal section taken through Fig. 2l on the line A D. The chair C C, &c., is made of cast iron, into which the rails fit loosely; the lip a being merely added to secure the rail, in case the spring bolt B were broken or removed. The end of each rail has a piece cut out, so that the shank of the bolt B will pass between them, and through a suitable hole in the back of the chairV at c, where it may be secured either by a screw nut, as represented, o r by a notched key. The spring pressure movement is here applied by making the head of the bolt B very long and narrow, and bending it so that the extremities Vof the head at 6 b will first come in contact with the inside of' the rails, and press them against the back of the chair c' c as the nut d is tightened.l When great pressure is required on the rails, I would make the head of the bolt of a combination of steel and iron; the external part of the head e e being spring steel welded to the wrought iron bolt b B b, and tempered as usual for springs; the iron being united to the steel to prevent breakage from sudden jars. But, in most cases a simple wrought iron bolt the head of which has been hammer tempered will have sufficient spring for the purpose. These chairs can be used at any part of the rail by having suitable holes in the latter for the shank of the bolt to pass through; allowing room, also, for the expansive and contractile motion of the rail.

Gast-iron chairs with spring headed bolts,

as above described, are represented as 2113-' iron ones at the middle of their length onl the plan of a rail-way track Fig. 19, Sheet' 2, whichV is another mode in which I have contemplated the application of my 1m- "provements Fig. 18 is a side view without the brace sills. And Fig. 17 a cross-section at I K of the plan in which they are, also, omitted. At K is Yrepresented the scarf I at first designed for the timber rails; which is represented'open on Fig. 1. The middle of the iron lrails at K, Figs. 17, 18, and'19, is securely banded to the scarf of the timber rails bythe iron bands 2' secured by screws to the wrought iron chair Z Z. And on the opposite side of the'track tothe scarf is placed the middle of the timber rail, which 1 is madeto support the/scarf laterally by means `of the tie bar I- K, which passes through the middle of the rail at I, and the scarf of the rails at K, and is united to both by screw nuts, as represented. The middle of the timber rails at I, also," supports the cast iron chair, on which the iron rails join; as hereinbefore described; and between this and the middle ofthejiron rail, itmay be secured to the timber by common spikes, or

by: large4 wood screws; but when such means are used Iwould prefer letting the base of the iron railintofthe timber one, or

string piece. My general-method of combiningthe iron railswith the timber string pieces, so as to form a rail 0f continuous bearing, Vwill be understood by the description I have given ofthe two last tracks; this, at

. Figs. 17, 18 and 19 I had designed'before I invented the (brace sills a 0 a, Z9 c b, which were subsequently added to it; as it maybe remarked of the track, Fig. 19, that however strong the combination was without themV it would not eifectually prevent lateral deviations, which might bel occasioned by the warping of the timber, to `which consideration may be added the greater extent of bearing surface the sills have on the road; and, being covered bythe ballast-ingv will .hold the rails down. Their union, also, with each other, and with the string pieces and rails forms a plat work of great strength and simplicity. At L M of Fig. 19 a cheaper tie bar is shown, and by the section Fig. 20;

but with the brace sills a c a and b o b the tie bars are superfluous, and may be dispensed with entire y.

0n Sheet 4 I have shown other original modes of securing the iron rails to the tmber string pieces and latticed sills; also, variations in the application of the latticed sills, and their combination with cross sills, besides a diderent relative position of the joints in the rails, &c. Fig. 38,`is another plan, or] ground plot, ofmy united brace railway; Fig. 3a is a side view of the same; and Fig. 85 1s a cross-section, onthree times the scale, taken through the iron rail, the string piece, and brace sills at p near T of the other two. The timber frame work A A', B B,\D', D', &c., is the same `as that at Fig. 29 with the exception of the string pieces D D', &c., which in the `present case are made broader and thinner, by which a more extensive bearing on the road bed is obtained; they are, also, united at the ends `by my angular scarf Ta', Tb', T', &c. The middle of the iron rail at T is also made to pass over `the scarf, and is secured to the latter, and tothe brace sills, in a way that is not only more simple and cheap, but that will give great additional strength to the structure; two holes 0 o' are drilled in the base of the rail, one on each side the middle of itslengtln'so as to leave a space between tnem of ten ortwelve inches; and I would prefer placing one hole on each'side of the center rib ofthe rail,'and as close as possible to it, that the bolts p p' may be placed entirely under the top `table ofthe rail, and, thus, be out of the way of the flanges of the wheels, as shown in thesection, near T', Fig. 35. `The bolts p p', it will be observed, pass both through the base of the iron rail R', one of them `through the end of each string .piece D' D', andboth through the two brace sills A' B', at their intersection. Above the base of the iron rail they are secured by notched keys u u, or by common split keys;

by screw nuts.

At the joint of the iron rails `the malleable iron chair, hereinbefore described, is used and secured yby two bolts g, g, that pass through the timber string piece andthe two brace sills A' and B; these bolts can be secured either aboveor below by keys, ory screw nuts. The vstring'pieces D' D', &c., are represented without the iron rail from `T1' to Sb', where the endof the rail R is inserted in the joint chair; the indentation made in the string piece to receive the joint chair is shown at Sa; and, t t is `the groove cut in the string pieces to receive the base of the iron rails, which I consider necessary when spikes s, s, &c., orwood screws are used to secure the iron rail ;.but, I would prefer securing the iron rail at the intermediate point Q5', Q', dac., by a small malleable iron chair,

in which case, thegroove t tV in the string pieces may be dispensed with., I would prefer securing these intermediate chairs by two bolts also, see Fig. 37; but for economy they may be made as shown by section, Fig. 36,

which is secured a single bolt; or, the

rail may be secured 1n the wrought iron chair J by my improved screw-nut m, one of the horns of the chair being cut with a screw to suit Fig. 38, in which case a single bolt e may be used; there should be an oblong spring washer under the nut, to keep it from unscrewing. AndFig. 40, shows how V and below the brace sills either by keys, or

the bridge section rail may be secured by single `bolts throughout, and the rail kept from spreading by the wrought iron chair c c, 7' being the rail.

At Figs. 33, 34 and 36 Q@ Q is a cross sill; showing how cross sills may be united with the brace sills A B; the string pieces D D; and the iron rails R B. The iron rails might be laid directly on the combination of sills A B, Sac., without the string pieces D D, but the track would not be as good, even with a mudsill below them.

In the tracks I have hitherto described, it may be observed with regard to the arrangement of the joints in the rails and string pieces, that a cross section at T S, taken through any one of them, would pass through a joint of the iron rails on the one side, and a scarf of the string pieces on the other. But, I contemplate arranging them, in some cases, so that a cross-section can pass but through one joint or scarf. This I effect without any alteration in the structure of the combined rail that constitutes either side of my united track; but simply by making the joints and scarfs in said rail on the one side to quarter with those in the combined rail on the other side. That is the joints S, &c., and scarfs T, &c., Fig. 43, on the one side of the track are placed opposite the intermediate points Q, Q, Sac., on the other` side. The track may now be united by a single set of brace sills eX- tending between T T, T S, S S, and S T, &c., but I much prefer crossing them by other sills uniting the points Q Q, &c.

For ease of construction, and facility of repairs, I would recommend thatall the rails, both of timber and iron, for the straight lines, and, also, those for the outer side of the curved track, be made of one uniform length when measured in the track, which is exclusive of the allowance on each for the joint or scarf, while those only for the inner side of the curves be shortened proportionally to suit the degree of curvature.

My railway tracks may be laid on any variety of soil, even the quick-sand and the moss, by increasing the bearing surface; and on stiff clays if heaved by frost it will settle evenly; but, it will be much better to avoid this derangement by grading the road in clay high on the center line C, and sloping off on each side A B, Fig. 17, and having rendered the surface compact and even with a heavy roller, to lay on it a course of rubble stone filled to a level line D E, Fig. 17, the outer edges A, B, being supported by a cordon of large stones; the surface D E should be well rolled, and a uniform course of gravel, or finely broken stone laid on it,

which should, also, be well consolidated with a heavy roller. On the surface so formed, I would bed the track, ramming ballasting of gravel, sand, or finely broken stone under the top sills and rails; and, also, covering the latticed sills with the ballasting, so

that nothing is seen above the surface of the road but the two lines of rails.

I contemplate, in some cases, using cast iron rails of any suitable form on my timber tracks. And, I, also, contemplate making the lattice work of iron bars; and embedding the track in a pavement of coarse sand united by asphaltum mastic, or other tough cement.

I/Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Placing the sills a c a and Z2 c b, Sac., Fig. 1, Sac., A and B, Figs. 29, 33 and 43, in the formation of a railway, so that they will cross each other in lines diagonal to the rails; and uniting them with each other, and with the rails so that they become struts and tie-braces to the track, substantially as set forth. And whereas, said brace sills may be variously combined with each other, and with cross sills, as at Figs. 33, &c., 44, &c., and 46, &c., and may be made to support an iron rail without the intervention of the timber string pieces; and may, also, like common sills be placed on a mud sill,7 I distinctly claim to be the inventor of the braced sill, or latticed construction of railway tracks under the modifications set forth, t-ogether with such variations thereof as may produce a like result by means substantially the same. I thus by the union in one, to an indefinite extent, of suoli materials as those that usually compose railway tracks, obtain by a united framing, a more extensive and uniform bearing on the soil than the individual parts would have; all other railways having to depend on the uniformity of soil, or artificial road bed, for their evenness of surface. l/Vhereas my railway track, herein before described, is independent in its formation of the soil on which it rests.

2. The method of uniting, or scaring, the string pieces, substantially as represented at A and B, Figs. 1 and 2, &c., and in Figs. 33 and 34, Sheet 4. And whereas said scarf can be used with great advantage to unite the ends of large timbers in foundations, piers, bridges, and other structure, I distinctly claim its application to the general purposes of carpentry.

`3. The method of even'ly joining, and holding railway bars by means of a metallic spring pressure, so as to permit the contractile and expansive motion of the railway bar, whether said spring pressure operates by means of my malleable iron chairs described, or as it may be variously modified and united with cast iron chairs, as herein described. The application of a spring to the rail for the purpose described being in itself new, and as said spring may be va- K riously applied for producing the intended represented inFigs. l17;, `18 and 19; also, in 10 effect, it is to be distinotlyunderstood that` Figs. 29, 30 and 32; and in 33, 34 and 85;' I claim the employment lof a spring under by which the iron rail is made to support the Variousmodications thereof described; the scarf of the string pieces, or t'o form a and Whenever it operates upon the principle part of the splice, as herein before described.

and produces the effect in the manner set- JAS. HERRCN. forth. Witnesses:

4L. The method of holding the iron rails at CHS. M. KELLER,

the middle of their lengths as set forth, and B. M. BYRNE: 

